


Gentle giants

by Mikampinri



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Cuddling, Fluff, Nightmares, Non-binary Reader - Freeform, Other, idk how tags work gimme a break
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:53:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26647078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mikampinri/pseuds/Mikampinri
Summary: You wake up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep and decide to get to work, but are interrupted by a certain Knight of Camelot who invites you to sleep in his chambers.
Relationships: Percival/Reader
Kudos: 15





	Gentle giants

**Author's Note:**

> This is not beta read, because I don't have friends.  
> So. Sorry for any spelling mistakes etc.

It was the middle of the night when you awoke in your bed, a storm raging outside. The rain patterned heavily against the windows and flashes of light filled the dark. 

_Fantastic_ , you thought, after you calmed down from the shock.   
You already had trouble falling asleep thanks to the bad dreams you kept having and now the thunder had awoken you. 

You turned around again, only to realize that the small space you were lucky enough to occupy in the castle, was way too cold and sleeping was probably not an option again. 

You groaned. This couldn't get any worse.   
After a few more minutes of contemplating, you decided to just get up. If you couldn't sleep, then you might as well just do something productive with your time. 

The castle was quiet in most places, Only a few knights were patrolling the passageways here and there.   
Barely any light made it into the kitchen, when you finally arrived. You grabbed a lantern that was in one of the cabinets, and quickly made yourself a light. 

It was a wonder that you managed to come this far without one of the Guards stopping you. You would definitely point this out to the King, or at least his servant, tomorrow. 

You decided your time would probably be best spent peeling potatoes. There was going to be a small festival tomorrow and the Chef would appreciate it if there was less to do during the day.   
Just when you had grabbed your apron and wanted to get to work, you heard a rattle at the other side of the kitchen. You realized You were not alone. 

"Hello?" you asked, but Noone answered.   
Still, you could feel the presence of someone in the dark, now that you were made aware of it.   
Quickly and eager to investigate, you grabbed the lantern and a knife that was lying nearby and walked towards the sound. It was coming from the pantry. 

Slow and carefully, you made your way towards the noise. Whoever was there hadn't noticed you yet.   
You took a few steps into the pantry, only to relax as soon as you saw a pair of broad shoulders in chainmail rummaging through the supplies. You would recognize those anywhere. 

"Kitchen's closed, y'know" you said, making the man jump against one of the boards, unhinging it completely and sending several supplies flying. You had to suppress a laughter.   
"(Y/n)!" Percival exclaimed, as he turned around and realized who it was. The two of you had known each other for a few years now. You started working at the castle shortly after he became a knight and quickly became friends.   
"I uh.. I was just.." he stammered

"Just what?" you raised an eyebrow.   
"Looking… for…. Mice! Yea, I uh. I heard there are Mice around here and wanted to lend a hand exterminating them" 

You chuckled. "And I suppose the Mice are also the ones responsible for the block of cheese in your hand that you have obviously taken a bite off?"   
His gaze turned from you to the cheese and back to you. This wasn't the first time you caught him stealing from the kitchens, just usually it wasn't this obvious.  
"You're an even worse liar than Merlin, you know that?" 

He sighed and looked at you with puppy eyes. "I'm sorry, (Y/n). My Guard shift is over and I… I got a little hungry"   
"Well" you thought for a moment. "I guess I can make you a little midnight snack. If you clean up over here and repair the board you just unhinged."  
Percival smiled and turned around to get to work, while you made your way back to the kitchen. 

When he returned, you had just finished preparing him a plate with a few grapes, ham and bread. And of course the cheese he bit into earlier, since you couldn't serve it to anyone anymore now.   
The two of you sat down on the nearby bench and he immediately started digging into his meal.   
"So" he said in-between his chewing. "Why are you here at this hour?"   
You sighed and rested your head on your hand.   
"Can't sleep. I had a bad dream and the storm woke me up. The servants quarters are cold as well, so I decided to go and prepare for the festival tomorrow." 

"In the middle of the night?" he asked.   
You just shrugged.   
"Does that happen a lot?" his voice sounded concerned.   
"Not really. I mean I do often wake up, but that's because I get Nightmares. But the chambers are usually quite warm, if that's what you were wondering. I guess the fire must have gone out." 

"Have you asked Gaius about that yet?" he offered you a grape.   
You thankfully took it. "No, not yet. I doubt he can really help with that. I heard when lady Morgana was still living in the castle, she had Nightmares as well and no matter what he gave her, nothing worked." you hesitated for a moment, before you added: "I think I'm just still not used to sleep alone."

Having grown up with four siblings in a small house at the outskirts of Camelot, it was always cramped, no matter when or what. It was fine though, it was all you ever knew growing up.   
But coming to Camelot after everything that's happened and forever having to sleep alone, even after all those years, was still not an easy thing to do. 

"Hmm.." he looked thoughtfully at his plate, as he finished the last bit.   
"Then.. How about you come sleep in my chambers?"   
Your head jumped up. "Wh- what?" You could immediately feel your cheeks burning. 

"Well, my bed is warm and you can barely hear the storm. Plus, you wouldn't be alone"  
"I-I suppose" you stammered, not really sure what to say. "But I can't! I mean, what if someone notices?"   
He raised an eyebrow.   
"I'm just a simple kitchen worker, I can't sleep in the same room as nobility" 

He chuckled. "You do know that I wasn't a noble before I came to Camelot, right? Arthur just knighted me, that's all. I'm no different from you" 

"B-But-" you stammered again, looking for a reasonable argument.   
"C'mon" he got up and held out a hand. "I promise it's going to be fine." 

You sighed. You just couldn't say no to his puppy eyes. "Alright, I suppose… But let me clean up here first. I don't want to get in trouble." 

You quickly cleaned up the plate and returned it to its rightful place, before Percival took you by the hand and led you to his chambers.   
You snuck past a few guards on the way and you were really wondering just how bad they were at their job. 

"Knights really have it nice, huh" you said, mostly to yourself, after Percival closed the door behind him. You kind of wished you were one now. 

"Oh, it's not that impressive. I only use the room to sleep, nothing more. If you ask me, all the closets and decorations are a bit too much, but the mattress is comfortable, so I can't complain."   
Percival shrugged and walked over to the closet. 

"You're probably the only one who would complain about this" you chuckled and sat down on the bed. It was a lot softer than the bed in the servants quarters, as if you were to sink right into it. 

A clinking sound suddenly ripped you out of your train of thought. You looked over to Percival, only to be greeted by a wall of bare back muscles, covered with both larger and smaller scars, probably from his battles and adventures.  
You could immediately feel your cheeks burning. You knew he had to take off his chain mail and all, but you didn't expect him to do it right in front of you. 

You quickly looked down when he suddenly turned around.   
He wanted to say something, but seemed to quickly change his mind and instead asked: "Are you okay? You're uh. Kinda red around the ears. You didn't catch a cold by chance?" 

You looked up in defense, which was a mistake, because now you saw everything of his trained upper body.   
"N-No, I'm fine, really!" you stammered, looking away again quickly. 

"Okay… Well, you can go ahead and lie down." he pointed towards the right bedside. "Make yourself comfortable, I'm just changing real quick" 

_That's a little late to say now, don't you think??_ You thought to yourself while taking off your shoes and scooted over to the right side of the bed with your back towards him.   
Shortly after, you were joined by Percival, who made the entire mattress wobble when he lied down and snuggled into the pillow. 

"Good night" he added, before finally settling into the sheets.   
"Good night" you returned a little embarrassed.

Only now it dawned on you, the situation you got yourself into.   
Usually, sleeping in the same room as the others wasn't that big of a deal, but now that you were sharing a bed with someone you actually really liked, it nearly tore you apart.   
It reminded you of home.   
How did you expect to sleep like this? Reminded of the place you were trying to forget. 

Well, for one, you didn't. You lied wide awake for quite a while, frozen in the same position.   
When you finally decided to turn around, you noticed that Percival hadn't gone to sleep yet either and his eyes met yours when you had assumed your new position. 

"Still can't sleep?" he asked in a calm and quiet voice.   
"No.." you answered, not wanting to be rude by telling him the actual reason.   
A moment of silence hung between you two, before Percival spoke again. 

"Would it help if I held you?"   
You were taken aback by the sudden boldness, not that he was any less bold this whole time, but it still came as a surprise to you. 

You thought for a moment, before your body seemed to move on its own, closer to him. When he noticed your approach, he quickly closed the remaining distance between the two of you.   
"Please say no, If I am going too far. I don't want to make you uncomfortable" he added, before you found yourself wrapped into his arm that was carefully placed around you, his hand resting on your back. 

He smelled of metal and rain and a little bit of sweat, but it was sweet and oddly calming. The warmth of his body immediately took hold of you as well and you could feel yourself actually calming down, which was strange, because this should be even more awkward, right? But for some reason, it was fine. 

He let out a sigh, when his question was met with silence and you rested your forehead right under his collarbone.   
A wave of sleepiness washed over you quickly and you could feel yourself drifting off into a deep slumber. It seemed you were more tired than you had initially thought. 

You awoke the next morning at dawn, with your head resting on Percival's chest and your arm wrapped around his torso, while he was still sleeping, his left hand resting on your lower back.   
Now that you watched him snore softly, you didn't regret coming with him at all. The anxiety you felt yesterday had also faded by now and you actually felt comfortable and safe in the giant man's arms and remembered the first time you two met. 

It saw him for the first time on the training ground, where he effortlessly took down three other knights coming at him. You had to admit, you were a little scared of him at first. It's not every day you met someone that large and with such raw power, but when he approached you the first time, he seemed to innocent and caring, that your image of him quickly changed to a more positive vew. 

You let out a deep sigh, knowing you had to get up soon, and tried to wiggle yourself free without waking him up.   
Unfortunately, you were unsuccessful and Percival slightly opened his eyes. 

"You going already?"  
"Yea" you nodded. "I need to go to the kitchen and help prepare the festival for later."   
He looked at you with puppy eyes. "Can't you stay a few more minutes?" 

You bit your lip. You would love to stay longer, maybe even to just sleep in the whole day, but you had duties to fulfill, just as he did.   
"I'm sorry" you finally managed to sit up. "I would love to, but I really can't, or the Chef will serve my head on a platter instead of the pigling." 

He sighed and sat up to meet you on eyelevel. "Alright, fair enough."  
He paused for a moment, probably to find the right words. "I.. hope I didn't cross a line you didn't want to cross, yesterday. I should have respected your boundaries, instead of acting on my own."  
You looked at him surprised, not having expected such a respectful statement, before your expression grew soft.   
"You didn't, but thank you for asking. I'm actually glad you did, I finally got a few hours of sleep without waking up in a cold sweat, thanks to you" 

He beamed at you, happy that you weren't mad or angry at him.   
The two of you smiled at each other for a moment longer, before you spoke again. "Will you be at the festival as well?" 

He chuckled at your question. It was obvious what you were thinking.   
"Sadly not, I have guard duties again. But you can feel free to come back here again whenever you wish" he gestured around him with one arm. "Even when I'm not here" 

You smiled at his invitation.   
"I might take you up on that offer." you said as you slipped out of bed, put on your shoes and walked towards the door.   
"You should go back to sleep."

"How can I, when someone so soft and warm is not lying next to me?"   
You groaned at his cheezyness. You never really noticed until now, but Percival was actually kind of a romantic sometime. 

You chuckled one last time. "Thank you, Percy."   
You closed the door behind you quietly, making sure Noone saw you leaving, and headed straight to the kitchen with a grin on your face, knowing this would definitely not be the last time you spent the night there.


End file.
